Cristiano Ronaldo/import
| cityofbirth = Funchal, Madeira | countryofbirth = Portugal | dateofdeath = | cityofdeath = | countryofdeath = | height = | position = Winger Forward | currentclub = Real Madrid | clubnumber = 9 | youthyears = 1993–1995 1995–1997 1997–2001 | youthclubs = Andorinha Nacional Sporting CP | years = 2001–2003 2003–2009 2009– | clubs = Sporting CP Manchester United Real Madrid | caps(goals) = 25 (3) 196 (84) 18 (15) | nationalyears = 2001-2002 2003 2002-2003 2004 2003- | nationalteam = Portugal U-17 Portugal U-20 Portugal U-21 Portugal U-23 Portugal | nationalcaps(goals) = 9 (6) 5 (1) 6 (3) 3 (1) 69 (22) | manageryears = | managerclubs = }} Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born 5 February 1985), commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of being the most expensive player in football history after having transferred to Real Madrid from Manchester United in a deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). His contract with Real Madrid is believed to have made him the highest-paid football player in the world. Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup, and reached the UEFA Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal. In 2008, Ronaldo won his first UEFA Champions League title, and was named player of the tournament. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in adittion to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years. Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United". Early life Ronaldo was born on 5 February 1985 in Santo António, a neighbourhood of Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener. His second given name, "Ronaldo", was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father's favourite actor. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. Club career Early career At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club Nacional, and, after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting Clube de Portugal, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum. Sporting CP Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club's football academy. He became the only player ever to play for Sporting's U-16, U-17, U-18, B-team, and first team, all within one season. He scored two goals in his Sporting debut against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the 2002 UEFA Under-17 Championship. When he was 15, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldo's mother gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later. He was first spotted by then-Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier at 16, but Liverpool declined to take him on because they decided he was too young and needed some time to develop his skills. However, he came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3-1 in the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldo's performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him. Manchester United External links Category:1985 births Category:Players Category:Wingers Category:Portuguese footballers Category:Portugal international players Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:La Liga players Category:Portuguese Liga players Category:Premier League players Category:Manchester United F.C. players Category:Real Madrid C.F. players Category:Sporting Clube de Portugal players